Writing Jane Austen: A Book Review

Have you ever read a book that made you squirm, yell out loud, and want to smash fine china to release your frustration? I usually put such books down and don’t bother to finish them. In this instance I was listening to Writing Jane Austen by Elizabeth Aston in my car and kept punching the on and off button. While I HATED Georgina, the main protagonist, the plot retained my interest just barely enough to keep me going.

Let me say up front that Elizabeth Aston knows her Jane Austen history and has a way with dialogue that is modern, smart, and funny. She also creates vivid characters with names like Henry LeFroy and Mr. Palmer, and has them shopping in stores like Mr. Darcy’s in Bath.

So what is my beef with Writing Jane Austen, which was published in 2010? Simply put, its heroine, Georgina. (I cannot recall her last name and am unwilling to relisten to the first CD to find out.) If an author asks me to spend hours of my life with her heroine, she should provide me with a character that commands my respect and/or interest. I could muster none for Georgina – no respect, no empathy, and absolutely no concern for her well being. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the wonderful young Maude, Henry LeFroy’s sister, I would have stopped listening to the audiobook after the first CD.

It is my firm belief that no well-educated author is as stupid as Georgina, the young woman who has been picked (for no good reason that I can see) to complete Jane Austen’s long lost and unfinished 3,000 word manuscript entitled “Love and Freindship.” Writing Jane Austen makes fun of the publishing industry’s mania for JA sequels, prequels, and mash-ups, and there are moments when Elizabeth Aston gets it completely right. But then I realized that this novel is as cynical as the industry it is lampooning, and with a defective heroine to boot. Either Elizabeth Aston has created dumb Georgina on purpose to ramp up her contempt for money-grubbing publishing houses who have jumped on the Jane Austen bandwagon in pursuit of the almighty dollar, or she actually thinks that her dumb-as-a-post heroine has a few redeeming qualities. Not.

So why do I dislike Georgina so acutely? She lacks intellectual curiosity, has a less than open mind, and repeatedly demonstrates an inability to be practical in the face of a situation over which, if she possessed a smidgen of self-awareness, she has full control. She is immature and uninteresting, a lethal combination. Much of the plot hinges on the fact that Georgina must write a 120,000 word book in the style of Jane Austen within a few months. The problem? She has never read a Jane Austen novel and has no interest in doing so, for she assumes that Jane’s books are a classic version of light chic lit, a genre she despises.

At the novel’s opening, Georgina is between a rock and a hard place. Her first book, a gritty, grim and dark Victorian novel, was forgettable, and her second book has stalled at Chapter One. Her agent threatens to drop her unless she writes Love and Freindship, and she is broke. The publisher’s advance will stave off her creditors and buy her more time to live in England. So, what does Georgina do after she gives in and agrees to write the book? Anything but read a Jane Austen novel. At this point I began to develop an extreme dislike for Georgina that bordered on hatred. How stupid can you get? Elizabeth Aston keeps the reader dangling with this weak plot point: is Georgina EVER going to read a Jane Austen novel and write the damned book?

This wait was stretched out for so long that I nearly spat at my CD player. At one point I yelled, “Enough already, you stupid woman! READ Jane’s books!” Even a brainless monkey would have known that this is the first step one should take when one agrees to mimic a famous author’s writing style. Georgina’s reasons for resisting did not resonate with me. In fact, when she finally picked up Pride and Prejudice and reacted with predictable gooey Jane Austen adoration, the only reason I kept listening to the audiobook was because I was driving along a boring stretch of highway.

What happened next in the book was so totally predictable that I began to laugh: After reading all of Jane Austen’s novels back to back in record time, Georgina now feels inadequate to the task of completing the manuscript of Love and Freindship. And so she is paralyzed with inaction.

Like I cared.

The heroine wasn’t all bad, I grudgingly admit. There were poignant moments, as when Georgina is brought to tears as she recognizes Jane Austen’s genius, or when she sees her writing table in Chawton Cottage and is actually able to muster an insight with her pea brain – that Jane could do so much with so very little.

I could have done without the interminable expositions about writer’s block, and some of the more improbable situations, such as ghostly apparitions of costumed people and carriages that were not integral to anything, except that the author seemed to think it a good idea to plop them in here and there. It is to Ms. Aston’s credit that she kept me listening until, well, almost the very end, for I did not quite finish the book, leaving the last CD in its sleeve. That’s how little I cared about Georgina and her angst about finishing Love and Freindship.

Reading or hearing this novel is akin to watching a TV movie of the week: Here today, gone tomorrow. In 20 years or so, as the Jane mania recedes into memory, you will likely find it for sale for 25 cents on the shelves of a Salvation Army store, while Jane’s excellent novels will still be selling and selling and selling. Thankfully, I borrowed my audio book of Writing Jane Austen from my local library and did not have to part with a cent. If you are still tempted to read the novel, I suggest you do the same.

I am giving this book One Regency Teacup (out of five). In the words of the all-knowing Lady Catherine de Bourgh, “I am most seriously displeased.”

25 Responses

I completely agree with your review. I read (or rather, skimmed) this book. I would add to your review that we were supposed to find the protagonist “cute” by the tone of the narration, but that goal fell dismally short, and I, for one, only felt irritation.

Fortunately, I did not read the book. Unfortunately, I did read one recently where the ending was such BS that I couldn’t finish it. It truely offended me in that even the slightest bit of research would have shown the author how wrong it was.

Bravo for an honest and interesting review! I read every word and appreciate every word posted! Anyone who thinks they can write ‘as such or such’ should do their homework first! I for one will not even glance at the 25 cents copy…

I just returned home from my long trip and listened to the last CD. While Elizabeth Ashton wrapped up the plot with a tidy bow, too much water had gone under the bridge for me to care. Too bad. I know how much effort it takes to write a book, and I frankly hate trashing a novel. On the other hand, it has been two years since the book was published. It currently sits at one million or so on the Amazon list. I wonder if it ever made much money for its publisher? Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s combined reviews give it from 3 1/2 to 4 stars. Amazing.

For my part I say “Shame on Touchstone”. They should know Jane Austen’s fans better – we love Jane for her genius, humor, intelligence, and insights. Why would we accept an austenesque heroine who is less than smart, fearless, and gutsy?

Thanks for the info, Marsha. This makes me grind my teeth even more. If Ashton was poking fun at the sequel genre’s heroines, as well as the entire industry, she should have more clearly let us in on the joke. We Austen readers love a good satire. If Georgina was her idea of a heroine who would appeal to smart readers, then she needs to go back to the drawing board.

I, too, felt the same way about this book. I have loved most of the books written by Elizabeth Aston, and thought that she would do a band-up job on Writing Jane Austen. Instead, I was shocked! How could a person who loves Jane (obviously, shown by her previous books) write such a travesty of a novel? I finished it, hoping it would redeem itself. The only thing this book has done for me is to question anything that comes from Ms Aston in the future.

Thanks for that forthright review! I haven’t read the book, was not intending to, and after this surely won’t, so perhaps I have no right to raise this question. But is it possible the author’s aim was satirical? That she was aiming to lampoon a literary culture where the absurd series of events you describe are even possible to imagine? Of every kind of writing I think satire is among the hardest to get right. Could she have just swung and missed?

Perhaps. I spoke to this issue in a previous comment. If she had intended for the heroine to be a satire, she should have taken a page out of Jane Austen’s book and made her likable, like Catherine Morland, who was such a young and silly little thing, but for whom one felt compassion and true affection. Jane Austen’s satire of Gothic novels worked because despite Catherine’s naivete and wild imagination, she showed bravery and common sense when they were required.

Thanks for this honest review! I may have this in my GR tbr list, but will take it off. I read 2 of Aston’s Darcy books, but gave up on the third…sounds like this went the way of those–too many silly things happening and not a likable heroine.
I am disturbed, however, by other commenters claiming all 5 star reviews are written by “sock puppets.” As a writer, my books have gotten both 5 and 1 star reviews (and everything in between) from complete strangers. So, in my opinion, while I no longer trust ratings to guide me, they are not always fake either. And a friend who has read your book and decides to write a review is not a “sock puppet” unless other authors who provide blurbs for their author friends are also “sock puppets.” Sorry for my digression.
I always enjoy your blog, Vic. Many thanks. :)

I read this book when it first came out, with high hopes because I enjoyed her Mr Darcy books, but was sadly disappointed for all the reasons you mentioned. The ending was somewhat lame and by that time, no one cares.

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Hello, my name is Vic and I live in Richmond, VA. I work in program and professional development at Virginia Commonwealth University, and I have adored Jane Austen almost all of my life. I am a proud lifetime member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I do not accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. However, I do accept and keep books, DVDs and CDs to review.

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My Regency Tea Cup Review Ratings

Five Regency tea cups: The book is not perfect (few books are), but it was well worth its purchase and possesses many outstanding qualities that makes it stand head and shoulders above its counterparts.

Four Regency tea cups: This book offered many hours of pleasant reading, and I found I could not put it down.

Three Regency tea cups: Damned with faint praise. I put the book down often, but was intrigued enough to finish it. In this instance, the movie might be better.

Two Regency tea cups: This book required major changes that the author and editor should have fixed before publishing deadline.

One Regency tea cup: Oh dear. I do so feel for the trees that sacrificed their lives for this verbal garbage.